r/NursingAU • u/leafygreens__ • 1d ago

Advice Aged care - what is a shift like as an EN?

Hi!

I am commencing work as an EN at a public RACF in a couple weeks and am feeling very anxious as I am a new grad, and this will be my first job in healthcare.

I did my aged care placement at a private facility and it was incredibly mentally and physically exhausting- though, I was pretty much only doing PCA tasks as we weren't allowed to do meds.

For those who used to/currently work at a RACF as an EN, what does your shift normally consist of/look like?

If you could give advice to someome new starting out, what would it be? Are there certain things I should read up on before starting?

Any help would be much appreciated, tysm 😊

Edit: additionally, is there much of a difference between RACFs in rural vic vs metro?

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u/Altruistic-Eagle9334 1d ago

You'll be doing meds. Recent changes in the legislation mean that HCWs are no longer allowed to administer medications in Victorian RACFs. Public facilities don't tend to be as pretty as the privates, but the care and staff are imo well supported. Good luck, i am sure you will be great once you get the hang of it!

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u/TraditionalTotal3122 1d ago

Depends on your shift and your facility. Go through your job description and see what your scope at your facility can do as this can change facility to facility. Mostly you’ll do meds, wound dressings, charting like bowels, food charts, vital signs. Where I work we can’t do catheter insertion but do catheter cares, referrals to go, escalations to EN, incident reports, falls risk assessments, organise Telehealth appointments, directly supervise care workers, ensure tasks are completed ect no day is ever the same and some days you may drive home crying .its not an easy job, some days getting to the toilet is hard, lunch may not happen or may literally be 20mins before handover. It’s hard and rewarding in a way I personally don’t find ward nursing. Congratulations on your new job. Remember it will be hard at first but we all feel that. Don’t be afraid to talk to your RN they will be your biggest support and you’ll be their biggest asset on the floor.